The Old Mansion
by Jcthegirl
Summary: Roxas and Axel decide to break one of the most sacred rules of Twilight Town- don't go in the old mansion. Semi-AU.


_Pairings: none  
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_Rating: T (just for possibly creepy and/or disturbing things)  
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_A/N: Happy late Halloween 8D Hopefully this is creepy enough. I tried. I honestly freaked myself out last night though trying to write this. I watched the KH MMV Follow Me (which makes you want to pee your pants it's so good and scary), listened to the creepy version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and watched R. L. Stine's the Haunting Hour, all pretty much for mood. XD And then I wrote this. All in the middle of the night. e-o_

_Oh yes, and listening to the same music played in the MMV I mentioned, music from Silent Hill called Promise (reprise), might help the creepiness too. Please enjoy 8D  
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><p><em>The Old Mansion<em>

"No. No way. Uh-uh." Roxas turned away with his arms crossed, his stance stiff and adamant. The white bag, two sea salt ice creams rustling inside of it, swung on his arm and collided with his side.

"Come on, man! You don't actually believe all those old ghost stories, do you?" Axel grinned at his best friend's apprehension; the devilish look in his eyes told he wouldn't give up until Roxas gave in.

"No! But..." Avoiding eye contact, he bit his lip. Now he had done it- Axel was going to win this one, just as always.

"Since ya don't, like you said, then what's there to be afraid of?" he teased in a singsong voice with a nonchalant shrug of his narrow shoulders.

"Fine," Roxas spat, unfolding his arms. His eyes blazed for a moment until it faded away into dull, submissive tone. "We'll go," he grumbled.

"Good man," Axel laughed as he punched Roxas lightly on the arm. Roxas limply let his arm swing with the friendly punch. Staring at him impatiently, Axel tapped his foot. "Well, let's go then!"

"Shouldn't we, you know, bring anything with us?"

"What, to some '_haunted_' old mansion? If all the stories are fake -which I'm pretty sure they are- we won't need anything. You're not telling me you're scared, are you?" Axel leaned forward with an inspecting green eye, rolling back on his heels as he did so.

"I'm not scared." Roxas frowned fiercely, roughly throwing the bag to the pavement. Axel smirked at his childish retort, tapping his temple with his index finger in his signature "Axel-tap".

"Just making sure." He chuckled and took on a dark look. "Time to go exploring."

_xxx_

No one had ever dared to step into the mansion. It wasn't like it was strictly forbidden, but Twilight Town's little unspoken rules went widely known, especially by all the rebellious teenagers obsessed with smashing rules to smithereens. Still, none had ever had the audacity or the courage to break this one, until now. The others called them crazy (which Roxas partially agreed with), but they both agreed that ghost stories were just something woven from an imaginative adult's mind to scare all the little ones into following rules under the precedent that something would "get them" if they didn't. Like the monster in the closet or the boogieman, except this was just a local tale.

Maybe.

"So..." Roxas eyed the place up and down, fingers itching for something to grab, something to hold as a comfort of protection. His hand came to rest on his deep pocket, where a gnarled stick, pocketknife, and pepper spray were stashed. Just precautionary measures... "Should we just go through the front door?"

But Axel was already ahead of him and done scaling the gate, striding in with guns ablaze and an eager grin. "Let's get moving, Roxas, we wouldn't want to be here once it got dark."

"Suppose not," Roxas muttered darkly, kicking a small pebble aside. Hands shoved in his pockets, he trailed behind his friend reluctantly. He hauled himself over the tall black gate. "This place gives me the creeps."

It was dead silent except for the crunch of browning leaves underfoot and the occasional brush of wind. Not even birdsong reached the dilapidated mansion. Jagged cracks marred the once grand grey pillars lining the walkway. A few insects slunk around quietly here and there, but they never strayed too far from the clearing that lead to the pathway entangled in a hundred year's worth of weeds.

Axel threw open the doors majestically as if grandeur was hidden behind them. That is definitely not what they found.

It looked like a clumsy giant had ransacked the place; tables and chairs were scattered in haphazard piles of wood all over, the centerpiece's glass casing was littering the floor, a few tiles were uprooted to reveal encroaching weeds. Dingy, yellowed glass doors smudged with dirt led to a courtyard barely visible through them. Roxas managed to see a fountain outside, but it seemed it hadn't run for quite some time. He shivered involuntarily as a draft swept over the foyer.

Axel, on the other hand, seemed enthralled by what was left of the old place.

"Wow... Hey, look at this!"

He pried a door barricaded by smashed chairs open. A chandelier, perhaps so ancient its supporting chain had rusted and broke or maybe was cut, rested on two halves of a table. Dusty tomes lined the room on musty shelves.

Suddenly distracted by something else, Axel wandered away and left Roxas in the small room.

"Wonder who lived here," he murmured to distract himself from how the hairs of his arms and neck raised in fear. His own breath nearly suffocated him when he heard something and felt a cold presence hovering by.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star..._

A voice, quiet and clear as a bell. Pretty, even.

"Axel, did you hear that?" Roxas burst from the room and snapped his head right and left in search of him. There was no sign of him. "Axel? Axel!"

"What, what? Geez, hearing my name so much hurts my ears!" Axel popped out of another identical door, where he had ripped away the debris once blocking it.

Deeply sighing in relief, Roxas put his hand over his jumping heart. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"_That_, that singing!"

Axel's expression changed from annoyed to puzzled. "Singing?"

"How could you have not heard it?" He waved his arms in frustration.

"I think you're imagining things, man. I've gotta admit, this place is creepy."

"I swear, I didn't..."

"Ok, then be quiet and we'll listen for it."

Not a sound. Even their breathing was silent.

"See? Nothing," Axel assured him, beginning up a creaky staircase.

"I really..." Maybe he had imagined it. Shaking it off, he decided to stick close to his friend. They stepped lightly over the protesting boards toward another closed door, this one free of any obstacles.

Behind it was a white room, pure white. Pristine floor, walls, table... A few curtains rippled at their entrance and soon settled back to rest.

A blue blur disturbed the stifling stillness of the room. It flew from behind the curtains and onto the table in one fluid motion, causing the two to jump back in alarm.

"Oh..." Axel breathed out the stale air he had drawn into his tight lungs. "It's just a cat."

It perched on the edge of the table, tail twitching and head tilted to the side with wide blue eyes. Roxas took a moment to understand that the blue he had seen was only in its eyes; the cat's fur matched the room perfectly. Approaching it cautiously, he extended a shaky hand towards it.

"Hey, nice kitty," he cooed with an uneven voice. His hand made contact with the cool, white fur, and he struggled to control his breathing. The cat leaned into his hand with a friendly meow, its intelligent eyes locking with his for a brief moment until it hopped into his arms.

"Heh, looks like she likes you."

She gave a low purr in Roxas's arms, watching Axel's every move with ears raised. Roxas hesitantly stroked her fur again, forcing himself to overcome the rising fear.

"Y-yeah, I guess so."

"Let's go out to the courtyard; there's not much to see here."

Axel lead the way out as Roxas lingered a bit to look at a sleek silver mirror, a few feet tall and stood up next to a little white box of... white crayons. Two pairs of piercing blue eyes were reflected back at him. He tore his own eyes away, absentmindedly petting the cat.

"Axel, wait up," Roxas called out to him, as Axel was already at the foot of the stairs with one hand on the banister.

"Look." He had forced one of the doors half open and was soon treading amongst a sea of weeds. Roxas caught up with him to see him point at another building that hadn't been visible through the dirty glass. "There's even more to the mansion back here."

"Great," he moaned sarcastically. The cat nuzzled his arm comfortingly, but all of a sudden her ears perked up and she flew out of his arms with ears flattened against her head. "Whoa, where are you-"

By the time he had turned in the direction she had gone, she was nowhere to be found. "...going..."

"Roxas, look at this!" They found themselves at a cluster of thin slabs, each cracked and standing upright. "Gravestones. Only one's got a name, though."

Everything else but a simple name was worn away by time.

"'X-i-o-n,'" Axel read slowly. "Zi-on? Or Shi-on? Hm."

"Xion..." Roxas searched it for a last name and a date but found nothing.

"Yeah, 'Shion' is probably how it's pronounced. Or really, _was_ pronounced," Axel mused as he checked the other graves for names.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star..._

Axel's head jerked up at the voice, and Roxas snapped up and whirled around to face to his friend.

"See, you heard it that time, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did..." He glanced around uneasily and took his hand off the grave he had been inspecting. "Weird..."

"Weird is right. Creepy too," Roxas mumbled as he looked over his shoulder at the looming mansion.

"Hello," someone chimed from by the newly discovered wing of the mansion. Roxas and Axel, already on high alert, took an instinctive step back.

A young girl, about their age, stood barefoot in the grass in a pale white dress. Her black hair framed her face perfectly. Striking blue eyes peered out from beneath bangs and thick eyelashes.

"I must apologize; I have this terrible habit of singing." Her voice was soothing and light, a soft lilt. She gave a graceful little curtsy with her dainty hands lifting the hem of her dress. "I hope you can forgive me if I have frightened you."

"'Frightened' us? Nah, we don't get scared, right Roxas?" Axel elbowed him roughly, and Roxas shot him a glare. "Just a little... creeped out, is all."

"D-do you live here?" Roxas stuttered, stumbling over his words.

"Of course. I lived here all my life," she sang softly as a delicate smile graced her pink lips.

"Really?" Axel blinked, and she giggled quietly. "We've always been told this place has been abandoned for years. Not to mention haunted- which is why we came here in the first place, to prove it wasn't."

"Well, the foyer is a bit run down, but this part of the mansion is completely intact." She lifted her thin arm to gesture to the building behind her. A smile rose to her lips again. "Would you like to see?"

"Uh..." Roxas gave Axel a sidelong glance.

"Sure." Axel shrugged and followed her. Grabbing his wrist, Roxas pulled him back.

"_Are_ _you_ _crazy?_" His voice was a low hiss.

"Come on, what's she gonna do? And maybe, maybe _she's_ the crazy one, thinking she lives here. Or she's telling the truth, and we just didn't know." He yanked his arm away.

"Well, that doesn't mean-"

"Are you two coming? Or have you changed your minds?" There was not any hint of impatience in her sweet voice.

"Yeah, we're coming," Axel said forcefully, pointedly looking at Roxas. Glowering angrily, he stiffly walked behind Axel.

"Through here..." An ornate door creaked open with a little push from her. They stepped through and into a large dining hall, the floors sleek and shiny. A long table decadent with priceless china, countless silverware, and elegant candelabras was centered under a chandelier consisting completely of flawless glass crystals.

A question had been formulating in Roxas' mind. "Do you have a pet cat?"

He received no answer for a few moments until her musical voice finally responded. "No. Have you seen one?"

"O-oh, just wondering. I saw one earlier."

"Strays do come by often."

"Oh..."

"This is the dining hall. We eat all our meals here. The servants bring us our food."

"'We'? Out of curiosity, who else lives here with you?" Axel questioned, trying to sound nonchalant.

"My mother, and my father. I haven't any brothers or sisters, or cousins and that sort. Just the three of us, and the servants of course." She led them up a staircase and down a seemingly endless hall, lined with doors to what Roxas and Axel assumed were bedrooms for the supposed servants.

"And they're-"

"Not home right now," her lilting voice sang in assurance.

"I see... Oh, and what was your name again? I don't recall."

The padding of her bare feet against the cold floor stopped abruptly, and their own steps slowed to a stop. She didn't move at all; they couldn't even hear her breathe.

"Xion," she chimed smoothly, turning around to face the two with a friendly smile.

Axel blinked in confusion. "Xion...?"

Roxas grabbed his sleeve urgently, his heart beating rapidly against his ribcage. "Axel, she's the one, she had that grave..." he whispered as fast as his hoarse voice would come.

"What's wrong?" She tilted her head to the side cutely with innocence-ridden eyes wide.

"Um..." Axel backed away a step, Roxas still gripping his sleeve and already turned to go. The door just to the courtyard seemed so far from where they stood. "Well, we've got to go, but we'll come back later, maybe with some more people."

"You're... leaving?" She seemed incredulous but not at all upset.

"Y-yeah, sorry about that, but we really need to go. It's getting late, our parents are waiting-"

"You don't have to leave," she intoned cheerfully, raven locks bouncing and hands clasped behind her back as she bounced up happily. "You can stay as long as you'd like. Forever if you desire."

"Axel, let's go, now!" Roxas' panicked voice rose as he pulled Axel back down the hall.

Xion made no move to obstruct their path back to the door.

"You can't leave," she sang out pleasantly in her soft voice.

They looked back at her, alarmed, still making their way down the hall.

"You can't leave," she repeated airily, her smile widening as she pulled a long knife out from behind her. It glistened as she ran a finger over the sharp edge, drawing a line of deep red blood. "You can't leave."

Xion faded away in a misty wisp of white.

"Run!" Axel shoved Roxas down the hall, and they made for the door in an all out sprint. She could be heard laughing softly, the gentle sound twisting in their ears with parasitic vengeance.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star..._

They launched themselves over the railing and landed on the table below, the priceless plates shattering and burnt out candelabras crashing to the ground.

_How I wonder what you are..._

Roxas fumbled with the door handle with shaky hands, finally shoving it open so hard the foundations of the place seemed to shake. They flew through the courtyard, throwing hasty glances over their shoulders to see if she was following. A see-through version of her materialized in front of them, hovering an inch off the ground with an ear to ear smile splitting her face and head tilted to the side.

"Where are you going?"

Roxas' hand flew to his pocket and gripped the pocketknife. He flipped it open as quickly as he could, sending it at her with deadly precision. Xion saw it fly halfway through her and stop right where her heart was, suspended in her transparent body, and she laughed her little wind chime laugh. Her piercing eyes bore into them as she did so.

"Don't you like me?"

She held the butcher knife loosely, taking a few slow steps toward them with her neck at an unnatural angle with her small, dislocated-looking shoulders. She giggled sweetly, a tinkling sound. "You can't leave."

And then she disappeared again into wisps of nothing. They made for the dingy glass doors, trying to avoid the space where Xion had just been.

_Up above the world so high…_

They dodged through the foyer around the debris. The little white cat was sitting inside the broken centerpiece's case, watching them intently as she licked her paw. Roxas snatched her up as they ran by, not wanting to leave the poor thing there to a terrible fate. Axel didn't object, but he was already at the front doors, looking back for a moment.

"Hurry, Roxas!"

With a tight nod, Roxas kept a tight hold on the cat and ran for the doors.

Axel was halfway down the pathway to the clearing with Roxas bringing up the rear, both desperately hoping that making it to the clearing would grant them safety.

_Like a diamond in the sky... _

The beautiful voice was closer than ever. Axel practically leapt to the top of the fence, where he looked down at Roxas. He had just begun scaling the fence, which was difficult with the cat in his arms. She obediently perched herself on his shoulder so he could climb.

Axel extended him a hand and hauled Roxas to the top. He jumped down and rolled to soften the fall, panting.

"I... I think we're safe here."

Roxas didn't respond.

"Roxas?" He looked up. His friend was gone. But he had just pulled him over the gate, he was just there!

"Roxas! Where are you?" Jumping to his feet, he snapped his head back and forth in search of Roxas.

He caught something white out of the corner of his eye.

The cat was sitting on the ground, tail swishing back and forth calmly. Her fur wasn't pure anymore. It was contaminated. Red stained her paws and muzzle.

She looked up at Axel with piercing blue eyes and revealed rows of scarlet teeth in an eerie smile.

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star, no one ever makes it far._

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><p><em>Well, sorry if I scared you but yay because I did my job, and sorry if I didn't because I must've failed then ;-; Hope you enjoyed all the same. :) Your support is very much appreciated. <em>

_I might do a sequel to this, depending on you guys. I want to though.  
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